Public comment sought on amendments to disciplinary rules, regulations

Following a year-long review of disciplinary procedure rules and regulations of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline, the board submitted proposed amendments to the Ohio Supreme Court for consideration. After reviewing the changes and voting to publish them, the Supreme Court will accept public comment on amendments to Gov.Bar R. V and the regulations until May 5.

In addition to clarifying and modernizing case-related procedures, several significant changes to the Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar of Ohio have been proposed. They include:

• Allowing for the imposition of an interim suspension where a lawyer or judge is suffering from a medically recognized disorder that substantially impairs the performance of professional duties;

• Adopting a single standard of “confidential” as that term applies to the investigation of grievances and applying to disciplinary case documents the standards of public access that are applicable to trial and appellate courts;

• Expanding the ability of Disciplinary Counsel or a certified grievance committee to conduct an inventory of the files possessed by a deceased, disabled, disappeared, or disciplined lawyer in order to protect the clients of that lawyer, and allowing the costs of such inventory to be recovered from the lawyer or his or her estate;

• Reorganizing Gov.Bar R. V in a more user-friendly format, and moving several substantive provisions from the regulations to the rule;

• Changing the name of the board to the Board of Professional Conduct;

• Altering the title of the board’s leader from secretary to director.